Walter Leo Harrison III

Leo Harrison III, 56, of New London, Mo., died Thursday, August 22, 2013, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo.

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The Lake News Online

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Posted Aug. 25, 2013 at 2:22 PM

Posted Aug. 25, 2013 at 2:22 PM

New London, Mo.

Leo Harrison III, 56, of New London, Mo., died Thursday, August 22, 2013, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo.

He was born June 15, 1957, in Hannibal to Leo Jr. and Helen (Howard) Harrison Robinson.

He was married to Karla Herron on May 11, 1996, at his mother’s home in Hannibal. Karla survives at the home.

Other survivors include two daughters, Laura Stewart, and her husband, Chuck, of Hannibal, two grandchildren, Macy and Alice Stewart; and Sarah Gordon of Nashville, Tenn.; his grandfather, Leo Harrison Sr.; one sister, Lisa Latteman of Parkville, Mo.; one brother, Scott Harrison of Kansas City, Mo.; and six nieces, one nephew, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father, in 1993; his mother, in 2011; his grandmother, Mildred Harrison, in 2010; and one brother-in-law, Jim Latteman.

Leo was a 1976 graduate of Hannibal High School and attended the University of Missouri, Rolla.

For many years, he was involved in the family owned farm implement business, Harrison Motor Co., until it was closed in 2000.

He was a lifetime member of the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). He was a member of the American Numismatic Association, a national organization for coin collectors and dealers. In recent years, he had begun to attend coin shows and had become a regular vendor of gold and silver U.S. coins.

Leo began trapshooting at age 10 at the Mississippi Valley Gun Club south of Hannibal under the guidance of his grandfather, Leo Harrison Sr. By age 14, he achieved All American status, and remained on the team his entire career. He topped the team as captain 12 times, an ATA record.

Leo won 26 Grand National championship rings, also an ATA record. His high overall score of breaking 993 of 1,000 targets is still a record.

He is a member of the National Trapshooting Hall of Fame, the Missouri Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2004, he began instructing other shooters through Leo’s Elite Clinics, teaching classes throughout the U.S., and in Canada and Australia. He took great satisfaction from teaching young shooters coming into the sport.

Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, August 25, 2013, at Smith Funeral Home and Chapel in Hannibal.

Funeral services will be at 4 p.m. Monday, August 26, 2013, at Smith Funeral Home and Chapel. Burial will be at Marble Creek Cemetery.